Karela Achar Achaar (Bitter Gourd Pickle) Recipe

Karela are not blanched. Instead salt cured and fried. Contains Mustard oil vinegar and spices

Choose Tender medium sized Karela where the seeds have not gone woody

How to make Punjabi style Vegetable Pickles?

Ingredients

Salt cure

1. Karela: 2 Pounds

2. Pickling Salt: 6 Tablespoon

Masala Preserve

1. Vinegar (5% Acid): ½ cup

2. Nigella seeds (Kalonji): 2 teaspoons

3. Crushed Hot Red Pepper flakes: 1½ Tablespoon

4. Cracked Black Peppercorn: 1 Tablespoon

5. Cumin Seeds Cracked: 2 teaspoons

6. Ajwain (Carom seeds): 2 teaspoon

7. Asafoetida: ½ teaspoon

8. Cracked Black Mustard seeds: 1 Tablespoon

9. Cracked Fennel Seeds : 1½ Tablespoon

10. Amchoor (Dried Tart Mango powder): 1 Tablespoon

11. Garlic Cloves: 10 Peeled and sliced thin

12. Serrano: 10 washed dried, stems removed, cut in ½" pieces

13. Mustard oil: 1 cup

Method

1. Do Not peel Karela. Wash, dry, and slice about ¼" thick

2. Add Salt to Karela in a glass bowl. Cover the mixture and let it stand about 2 hours at room temperature

3. Heat oil to smoking point. Turn down heat

4. Add Karela with salt. Fry till all the moisture is gone and Karela chips start to turn brown and crisp.

5. Add remaining ingredients. Bring it to a near boil 185º F.

6. Shut off heat. Let it cool to Room temperature

Aging

Transfer the pickle to wide-mouth Pickling Crock (stoneware). Tie cheese cloth to the wide-mouth. Repeat following step for next 6 days, once a day.

1. Remove the cheese cloth. Stir the pickle.

2. Preheat oven to lowest setting about 200º F for 25 minutes

3. Place the crock in the oven for 45 minutes. Keep the door ajar about 2 to 3 inches.

4. Shut off oven. Remove the crock after 30 minutes. Secure the cheese cloth to the wide-mouth.

5. Place the crock on the top shelf of your kitchen cupboard.

Storage

Remove the Muslin cloth. Close the crocks with sterilized well fitted lid.

Put the crock away in a cool dry and dark place.

This pickle should be good for six moths